The Morning Will Come
by DeidaraStalker408
Summary: In the end, love can never have a happy ending. Even if you're a genius, love can't be compressed into a science. Love is just another way of forcing your life story to commence.


**The Morning Will Come**

A Nara Shikamaru One-Shot

Mizuki walked down the streets of Konoha, her arms crossed over her chest as a sign of nobility. She kept her eyes down on the dirty road beneath her, watching her feet as they took her down the walk. Today was an abnormally busy day for Konoha; no one but the ninja really knew why, exactly.

Today, for the young academy students, would be the day they gained the rank of a genin and truly became a ninja. The sun was shining warm and bright through the city, making it almost impossible for anyone to frown or scowl . . . or do anything that would cause unhappiness, for that matter. It was just a happy day for everyone, even those that didn't know exactly why it was as content as it was. No one could deny it, or even escape it. Sunshine was pouring from every corner, and it seemed like even the shadows looked brighter than the day before.

The brunette, halfway down the street, reached her hand into her pocket and took the hitai-ate out. The metal was cold on the warm palm of her hand, and the cloth was a bit rough. But to her, it was a sign of tolerance. She was a ninja, now, and she was one step closer to pursuing her dream of becoming a medical ninja.

Where most ninja enjoyed the fights and chase of being one of the offensive ninja, Mizuki wanted nothing more than to help people. To her, becoming a medical ninja was a job that made people into heroes. Medical ninja saved lives more often than they took them. Nothing could keep that girl from reaching her dreams; she never gave up and she never would. It wasn't like her not to.

_Finally,_ she thought to herself. _I'm finally one of them._

But, as she had suspected, that day of happiness and joy ended far too soon. The next day came in a rush of tiredness, as everyone had stayed up much too late the day before. Not that this really mattered, though, because all of the young ninja were too excited to stay tired for long. Mizuki was no exception.

Today, the ninja would receive their teams. Mizuki had no clue as to who her team would consist of, and-- to be perfectly frank-- she didn't care. There was just the slightest chance she would even get along with either of them. She was a quiet soul, and she didn't work well with others. She was sarcastic when she opened up her mouth, and she was generally intolerable.

Whoever she received to work with would be nothing more than comrades. Nothing more, and nothing less.

But, as it were . . . her 'comrades' would be her biggest downfall. They would be the ones to put her in one of the worst positions she would ever find herself in during her entire life. It was their fault that she was alone, now.

At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

--

"Niborachiko, Mizuki," Iruka called from the front of the classroom.

She perked up in her chair.

"Idumaru, Rei." He paused, opening the scroll in his hands just a fraction more. "And Torazono, Kisuke."

Mizuki's eyes turned back and forth across the classroom, glancing over at both of them. She really wouldn't have suspected to be on a team with either of them; they were in the head of the class, and were nearly as educated as Sasuke, the criminal's kid brother. Mizuki didn't consider herself as high a caliber as either of them, but she assumed that Iruka, the senseis, and the Hokage himself had taken great care in choosing our teams. They wouldn't have put her on a team they assumed her to do poorly with.

She decided to give the two of them a chance.

And, in that moment, the teams had been completed. Everyone was slowly edging nearer towards the other two team members, as to meet them and introduce themselves. Everyone except for Mizuki. She sat in her chair, unmoving and silent.

They would have to come to her, it would seem.

Rei and Kisuke were friends and knew each other quite well. On the other hand, they'd hardly spoken to Mizuki as she was usually silent. They thought her to be a bit weird, or messed up in the head. She really wasn't either, but people are always quick to judge what they don't understand.

The two of them appeared at Mizuki's desk, standing in front of her expectantly. Mizuki stood up as well, her expression unreadable.

"Uh, hi," Rei said. "I'm Rei, and this is Kisuke."

The boy to her right waved his hand shyly.

"I'm Mizuki," the girl told them.

"So, we're on a team together, now," Rei told her.

"Obviously," she said, her tone dry.

The redhead gulped, an uneasy smile snapping at her lips. "Anyways, I think we've got to go outside. Our sensei will be there, apparently."

"Do either of you know whether they're a male or a female?" Kisuke interrupted, wiggling his eyebrows.

"To which are you referring would be the better choice?" Mizuki asked. Her face was still utterly emotionless, but she felt like taking the comment back. She didn't want Kisuke to hate her. But she couldn't really help the fact that everything that came out of her mouth was oozing with sarcasm. It just wasn't her fault.

Rei laughed. "She's presumed you gay, Kisuke," she told the boy, placing a consoling hand on his shoulder. Mizuki, standing across the table from them, let a slow, yet unsure smile crawl onto her face. In truth, she had a pretty smile. It's just that she never let it show often, so no one ever knew.

"Come on, I was just kidding with you," the brunette chirped, walking down the steps to the front of the room. Her arms were crossed over her chest; she truly hoped that Kisuke didn't completely detest her, now. It would be terrible if her team was already set to lose.

"I know," he told her, sighing while following her as she opened up the door and walked out into the hallway. "Come on, Rei."

"I'm coming!" she exclaimed. "Don't leave without me!"

When the trio reached the outdoors, one tall male stood facing away from the Academy. His hair was a deep raven, and he was unnaturally tall. He wore a jonin jacket and the regular, navy blue ninja pants. From the back, he seemed to be just some normal guy that happened to be a ninja.

_From the back._

And then he turned around.

Rei and Kisuke's eyes went wide; they stared up at their sensei with shock laced with a bit of distaste, or maybe even disgust. Mizuki did nothing other than bite down on her lower lip.

"Hey," the man greeted. "The name's Akinawa, Soun."

His eyes were the deepest color of red. His right eyebrow was pierced twice, and a tattoo of a star had been inked under his left eye. It was colored white. His lip was pierced three times: once on the left and right of his lower lip, and once right in the center. A stud was placed there, and the two on the outside were hooked with a pair of silver hoops.

Dark purple rings hung beneath his eyes, making it seem as though he had not slept in a week or two.

"What?" Soun asked. "You're acting like you've just seen a ghost, or something."

They all three shook their heads 'no', causing the black-haired man to throw back his head and let a series of laughter escape his throat.

"Come on, guys," he said, scratching the back of his neck in a sign of nervousness. "I don't look that scary, do I?"

Rei was the first to speak. "You look a bit frightening, I'll admit."

"It's nothing we can't get over, though. After we see your face a few times, that is." Kisuke said the last part under his breath.

"You know, you don't look like I'd pictured my sensei to look like," Mizuki finally stated. Her arms were crossed over her chest self-consciously. She wanted to make a good first impression with her teacher, but she wasn't all that sure she had started their relationship off as a sensei and student really great.

"I know I'm not the typical sensei," he told the three twelve-year-olds, his red eyes trying not to look quite so menacing, "but just try and give me a shot."

Mizuki couldn't believe her ears. It seemed that, from the way he looked, he might just murder all three of them and eat them for dinner. But once he opened his mouth, much like Mizuki, herself, he was an entirely different person. Soun actually seemed like a nice guy. A suitable sensei for the three genin, indeed.

And, to top it all off, his eyes were the kindest color of red she'd ever seen.

"I think you look fine," Mizuki said, trying to redeem their status with each other. "It was just surprising at first, that was all."

He grinned after receiving a nod from the other two ninja. "I'm so glad to hear that." Soun changed the topic. "I'd like to get to know each of you just briefly, so I know what type of people you three are."

The four of them took their seats on the ground beneath the big tree just outside the Academy and began the process of introductions.

"You can begin," Soun suggested, motioning to Rei. She nodded quickly and began to tell her life story.

Well, not quite her life story, but I'm sure you get the point.

"I'm Idumaru, Rei," she began, grinning largely. "I'm friendly, I'm nice, and I work hard. My dream is to become so powerful, I can go on A-Rank missions."

Kisuke went next. "My name is Torazono, Kisuke. I'm intolerable, incapable, and a smart-mouth. It doesn't matter if I have any dreams, because the only place that will ever take me is Ichiraku. That is, according to my mother."

They all laughed.

"My dream is to become one of the ANBU Black Ops. I want one of those masks; it seems like once you get one, you're honored by everyone. I want people to listen to me and hear what I've got to say."

Mizuki went last. She sat up against the tree's stump, holding her knees close to her chest. Her arms wrapped around them tightly as she rested her chin on her kneecaps.

"Would you like to go next?" Soun asked her.

She was silent for a moment before finally nodding, letting her arms release her legs and let them lay flat before her. She wondered that, if she actually tried talking to these people nicely, would they still think she was weird? She wondered why it was that people became shy, why people just had to act that way.

"Okay," she began, taking in a deep breath. "My name is Niborachiko, Mizuki. I don't really know what to say about myself. I'm kind of quiet. I wish I had more friends. I'm nice, most of the time. My dream is to become a medical ninja so I can save lives."

"You seem like a very nice girl," Soun told her with a gentle smile.

"We're your friends," Rei told her. "Me and Kisuke, both."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" their sensei asked, feigning hurt.

Mizuki couldn't believe it. Were her ears deceiving her? She could have sworn she had heard that she now had friends in her team. She could have sworn that, in that instant, she felt wanted. She could have sworn that she trusted these people more than she had ever trusted anyone else before.

But maybe it was just her.

. . . Then again, maybe it wasn't.

--

Training had let out. It was after five o'clock, and the sky was beginning to get that reddish tinge to it like it did in those utterly cliche films. Mizuki was feeling completely tired and wanted nothing more than to crawl into her warm bed at home and fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. And she would have, too, if her teammates hadn't invited her to go with them.

"To where?" Mizuki asked.

Kisuke grinned. "Us and Team Ten are getting together tonight to go to that restaurant down the street." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of the diner. "Wanna come?"

For a split instant, the brunette almost felt like saying no. Like saying she was too tired to go out and would rather go home and sleep than hang out with them.

But, after that moment was over, she knew that doing so would have been absolutely the most wrong decision of her entire life. If she said no, she would be saying no to friendship. And she was definitely not going to be one to decline an offer of something as priceless as that.

"Sure," she agreed.

Oh, what a vital mistake that turned out to be.

When they arrived at the shop, it seemed that the other team was present. They had plopped themselves down in the corner table of the shop, saving the large seat for Team Soun and themselves to enjoy.

"Hey," a blonde girl greeted the team. "Over here!"

The trio walked towards the back of the shop, smiles glazing Rei and Kisuke's faces. Mizuki, on the other hand, didn't know what to think. She didn't really speak to anyone else in her class besides the blonde Naruto, though they only conversed occasionally. Still, if anyone asked, she would call him her friend.

"Hi, guys," Kisuke greeted, taking a seat next to the blonde and scooting towards the inside of the seating to allow Rei to sit down beside him.

Mizuki was left to sit on the opposite side of the table from them, beside a boy with a ponytail. He seemed to look just as tired at the brunette; his head was rested on the table and his eyes were closed. But just as soon as she took a seat, he opened his eyes and stared up at her.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hi," she said back.

"You look tired."

"So do you," she said pointedly.

"I'm always tired," he said. "I don't like being forced to do things I don't want to do. I was forced here by those two, against my will." He moved his head, motioning to the blonde and a bit of a round-shaped boy beside him.

"I wasn't forced, I chose to come." She spoke with a slight smile in her voice, as she was trying to stop being so sarcastic. Mizuki was trying to be nicer than she knew she had been earlier. And there was a pinch of pride nesting in her tone; the boy noticed this.

"You seem pretty happy about that," he stated.

"I am."

The boy felt like cracking a small grin, but decided against it. "I'm Shikamaru."

"I'm Mizuki."

Now, you see, here was Mizuki's biggest downfall, meeting this boy Shikamaru. The treacherousness of male and female interactions always ends in sadness, no matter how hard you try for them to work out perfectly. It's an inevitable conclusion.

And even Shikamaru, a proclaimed genius, didn't notice this until it was too late.

--

They kept in contact. They hung out on the weekends, trained together, watched clouds together, spent their days and nights together. In truth, it wasn't supposed to end up so complicated. But they had made it that way themselves. They had chosen to bring this upon themselves. It was that day at the restaurant those twelve years past that made it so hard for either of them to think of anything else than the other.

Mizuki trusted him. With her entire heart, she trusted that boy. And when he broke it, there was nothing left but the ache of a longing never to be filled again.

He walked into her life, and walked back out.

Why couldn't it just be that simple?

--

Her arms were around his neck, his around her waist. The sheets on the bed were tangled and wronged in the morning sunlight. Everything in that room was warm, even their touch. _Especially_ their touch.

Shikamaru stared up at the ceiling, his mind on other things than the drywall. They were on a specific individual. The individual that just so happened to be curled up in his arms that morning. He felt himself letting out a sigh, wondering why he had done what he did the night before. He was such a fool.

He was more of a fool than he thought, though. He was so much more foolish. He had ruined everything. He had gained it for a that one night, and then would lose it the very next day.

The ninja might not have realized this, but by doing this, he had killed that girl. He was the one that had forced that dagger through her chest and made her bleed to death.

Shikamaru tightened his hold on Mizuki once he felt her stir beneath the covers. He had her arms tight around him, and he had his around her just as tight as she. To Shikamaru, they were meant for each other. As much as he hated to admit it, it was the truth, and he knew it.

_What have you done to me?_ he wondered.

But it wasn't what she had done to him that had been so fatal. It's what he had done to her.

Mizuki's eyes fluttered open, finding herself in that boy's arms. That boy that had kept her heart intact for so many years. With her entire being, she trusted him. He was her world. He was her everything. She'd loved him for so long, and she'd wanted him to hold her like this for so long, nothing could possibly make her happier.

"Good morning," she murmured. A smile spread onto her lips; oh, God. That smile was irresistible.

Shikamaru bent his head down and pecked her on the lips. She brought a hand up to his cheek and caressed it, then brought it back down once the moment had commenced. The brunette pulled the covers around herself as the air of the morning was creeping in.

"I love you, you know," Mizuki said. "I always have."

"I know," he said. "Me, too."

They were silent as they spent a few more minutes with each other peacefully. He held her in his arms, and she was content. The two of them fit together like a glove.

"I've got to leave today," Shikamaru said after a moment. "A high-ranking mission. Just me and a couple others are going; we were assigned by the Hokage, herself. It's really important, you know."

Mizuki's eyes grew just a bit wider. "Where are you going?"

"I can't tell you," he replied.

"Oh, come on," she said. "I'm sure there's nothing I can't handle."

"I'm sure there is."

"Like what? Tell me, please." She had reduced herself to begging.

He sighed. He'd have to tell her, he knew it. She was persuasive. At least, her eyes were. They could force anything out of him. Anything.

"The Akatsuki's resurfaced," he said simply.

And she was silenced. It was like he had put a muzzle on her and shut her up for eternity. That's how it seemed, anyways. For at least five minutes.

"But, Shikamaru," she began. Her voice was shaky. More than anyone in her village, she hated the Akatsuki the most. Everyone knew it. She hated them more than Rei, or Kisuke, or anyone.

The organization had taken her sensei's life a few years ago. He was her best friend, her mentor. He was like a father to her.

And they had ripped him away from her.

"You are strictly not allowed to go along," he said sternly. "Tsunade believes that your feelings would get in the way of your battling."

"Then at least let me come along to help you medically!" she pleaded. "I need to go! Shikamaru, please, you know how much this means to me. Won't you ask the woman to let me go? Please!"

He held her tighter. "It's out of my hands."

Mizuki's eyes began to water. She didn't understand. Wouldn't she have been the perfect candidate to go on the mission? The outcome would have been better if she went along since she wanted to beat them, kill them harder than any of the other Konoha ninja! She would have made sure they won. She really would have.

"I'm sorry," Shikamaru told her. "I tried persuading with her every single way you can imagine. But she just wasn't willing to negotiate. She's got a hard head and an even harder ego."

"That btch!" the brunette cried. Tears were flowing down her cheeks silently. They were built on salt, anger, and helplessness. She knew that she couldn't argue with the Hokage. She would just end up losing harder than Shikamaru had.

"Don't cry," he told her, wiping away her tears. And just like that, her tears stopped. "Mizuki, I'll make you a promise."

"What for?"

"I'll kill every single one of those Akatsuki members. The team will make sure there are no survivors."

"You can't promise that," she said. "There's always chance of failure, no matter how good you are, or how terrible they are."

"I promise," he said. His tone silenced her-- she believed him, that he would kill all of them. She believed him even when she was trying to voice a possibility they might fail. There was no possible way that the Konoha ninja couldn't defeat this new Akatsuki uprising. They'd done it already, once before.

"Okay," she said.

They shared one long, once-in-a-lifetime kiss that you doubt will ever happen to you. One of those kisses that you see in a movie and say, "I wish I could have that." It was perfect.

And when it ended, he was gone.

"Goodbye, Mizuki," was all he said. And then, he was out of her life.

Forever.

--

Mizuki had stood at the gates of Konoha for three and a half hours that night, waiting for them to come home. They had been scheduled to return at eight, but somehow they hadn't showed up then. Shikamaru, however lazy he was, was not one to be late. Mizuki knew that, so she wondered what had happened to their trip. Her mind didn't even go to the conclusion that one of the team's members might have been dead and slowed them down, because she trusted Shikamaru that much. He had her heart with him, always. He'd taken it with him to battle, and had pierced it in the process.

No, not pierced, but rather stabbed with a kunai, or chopped into tiny pieces by a windmill shuriken. It didn't even look like a heart anymore; it was dead; lifeless. Like processed meat.

When the team had showed up that night at nearly twelve o'clock, Mizuki ran towards them. Her face was alight and shining; she'd missed Shikamaru so much. All she wanted was to have him hold her and tell her that everything had gone according to plan, without a hitch. That they had murdered the Akatsuki and that they wouldn't be back for over a hundered years.

But that wasn't the case.

Naruto was the first she noticed; he was in the front of the formation. Mizuki smiled, waving to the blonde. But, something was different about him that day. He looked a little deflated. A little somber. Maybe a lot somber. But it was dark and hard to read his expression.

She ran towards them, looking down the line for Shikamaru to surprise her and kiss her and love her like he had just a week before.

But, as her eyes reached the end of the line, finding Neji instead of Shikamaru at the end, her grin faded.

"We defeated them, Mizuki," Neji said. But she ignored him.

"Have any of you seen Shikamaru?" she asked, looking back through the woods to see if he were lurking back there, trying to surprise her.

No one said anything for the longest time. Naruto stopped walking. The rest of the line froze immediately. The blonde turned himself around to face Mizuki, but he couldn't bear to look into her eyes. So he stared at his hands instead; they were dirty and dried with blood.

"Mizuki," he said finally; his voice broke.

"Yes?" she replied. She was really frightened now. "What is it, Naruto?"

Before he could get another word out, a crackling of leaves sounded from the forest. Mizuki whipped her head around to get a good look at what the sound was coming from. But once she saw, her heart shattered. Her stomach felt like it was in her throat. Her throat felt like it was in her stomach. Nothing was right. Everything was wrong.

Choji appeared from the bushes, holding something in his hands. He set whatever it was down on the ground and stood up from the dirt. He wiped his eyes, but soon couldn't bring himself to hold it inside any longer. He broke down, right there.

She didn't want to believe it.

"Choji!" Mizuki called, running towards him. "Where's--"

Her speed slowed down, gradually until she was very still. Her eyes began to sting. Then they watered. Then she was in the clearing, right beside Choji, crying until she felt like her eyes were bleeding. Then she felt herself slip down, appearing beside his cold body.

His eyes were closed, like they usually were. The only difference between him then and now was that he wasn't breathing.

He was dead.

Mizuki grabbed his Jonin jacket roughly by the collar, yanking him up to meet her eyes. He didn't move. He was like a puppet.

"Wake up, you lazy bum!" she shouted at him. "Can't you see? Your game isn't funny anymore! You're not funny, Shikamaru! You aren't!" Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her shoulders were shaking. Her chest felt like it was on fire. She couldn't feel anything else but the pain welling up inside her chest.

A small stream of blood had dried from where it had poured from the corner of the man's mouth. He was silent.

"You said you guys would be fine! You said . . ." She couldn't finish speaking. Her coughs and cries and shouts were taking hold of her voice and forcing it down her throat. Somewhere she wouldn't be able to find it for a long time. Mizuki fell on top of Shikamaru's body and held it close to her's. It was so cold.

She didn't know how long she'd been down there until Naruto pulled at her shoulders. "Come on," he said, "they have to take his body, now."

But she wasn't leaving him, not without a fight. She hugged Shikamaru tighter, but Naruto pulled her harder. It was no use; no matter how hard she fought, Naruto was physically stronger than her.

"No!" she cried. "Stop, let me stay with him a little longer! Let me go!"

But he would let her go. Naruto turned her around to face him. "Stop it," he said. "We can't stay here any longer. He has to leave. They have to take him, now."

She tried fighting to get away from him as hard as she could, but Naruto held her unmovingly. Tears flowed in heavy streams down her cheeks. He was really dead. He wasn't ever going to hold her or tell her he loved her ever again.

Mizuki slapped the blonde. Then, all was silent. She recoiled, and then she cried harder than she had before. She cried regret, hatred, anger, sadness, unfairness, tragedy, sorrow, and truth. She hugged Naruto tight, crying into his chest. Her tears were muffled through his jacket, but even then, they were loud enough to hear from inside the village.

Everyone felt a terrible guilt rush through them that night. Even the people that didn't fully understand why knew that the feeling was there for a reason. Many wondered what had happened, but many more wished they didn't.

That night, Mizuki decided to stop living.

She ran through her house and into the kitchen. She opened up the drawer and took out a knife. It was sharp. She pricked her finger with it and watched it bleed slowly, steadily. It was then that she knew exactly what she was going to do. In truth, she'd known what would eventually come of his death if it were to arise. She'd already died spiritually. Why not take everything from herself in one night?

No longer would she walk through the town in that aloof way she always did-- her arms crossed over her chest in a sign of nobility, her eyes down on the dirty road beneath her, watching her feet as they took her down the walk. No longer would she dream of becoming a medical ninja. No longer would she have to live with the world on her shoulders, slowly pushing her down and down until it crushed her and, eventually, killed her.

The two of them were dead. And, along with them, a shred of the village had been killed, as well. It, like our lives rolling by until we, ourselves, pass away, was inevitable.

So you see, in the end, love can _never_ have a happy ending. Even if you're a genius, love can't be compressed into a science. Love is just another way of forcing your life story to commence.

The end.


End file.
